68 groups involved in the ‘Turn Off the Red Light’ campaign will be lobbying politicians today to make it illegal to buy sex.

The groups’ aim is to end prostitution and sex trafficking in Ireland. Currently, it is not illegal to buy or sell sex in Ireland, but certain activates like kerb-crawling and brothel-keeping are illegal.

Last summer, the Oireachtas Justice Committee recommended introducing laws to criminalise the purchase of sex.

The Immigrant Council of Ireland said it is vital to keep up the pressure on politicians.

“They were very clear in their recommendations, and we assume the Government will act upon it … there is phenomenal support for the change,” said Denise Charlton, Chief Executive.

Trafficked to Dublin at 15-years-old for sex: ‘You would do like 15 guys a day’
“There was a guy, I remember a guy who used to come in and say “I want the youngest girl you have here” and he was really old, so to them it was fun,” one young woman said.

Mel McCarthy is undertaking the Cork City Half Marathon this year and has kindly nominated the SVC as his chosen charity. His fundraising page on mycharity.ie outlines all the details. Thank you Mel all the support.

Some claim that concerns about a link between sex trafficking and the Super Bowl are overblown, hyperbolic, or, simply, myth. Some have even suggested that a strong law enforcement response is harmful to victims. While it is unfortunately true that there have been arrests of prostituted women in Super Bowl-related policing–a counterproductive strategy that discourages victims from seeking desperately needed police protection–law enforcement is right to step up efforts to investigate trafficking on the eve of the Super Bowl and to hold the real perpetrators–both traffickers and their customers–accountable. For as the recent major busts of traffickers directly marketing women and girls for prostitution to Super Bowl fans underscores, the Super Bowl trafficking link is all too real. Full Article